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Saturday, May 28, 2011

Posted May 30, 2011. This post is a tutorial for my "Missing You" card with the threaded hearts. A few people commented that they might like to try the technique, so here are all the details in one place. For my original post, scroll up or click here.

If you have any questions, leave a comment for me, and I will reply in the comments. Also if you try this, I'd love to see your card, so please let me know in the comments.

For reference, here is my card:I included all the details of measurements and materials, so you know how the card fits together. If you want just the threaded hearts info, scroll down.

Card stock and layers:

My card used 3 colors of card stock, plus white.

Light color for the card base and the top layer (light blue on my card). I used Papertrey Ink spring rain.

Medium color for the hearts and the middle layer (kraft). I used Papertrey Ink kraft.

Darker color for the 1" and 1/4" circles and the bottom layer (dark blue). I used Paper Source lake.

Of course, you can try different shapes and sizes! I'm just listing what I used.

My 1/4" circle punch is an old office supply punch to make holes for a 3-ring binder.

My heart punch is a red "whale type" by EK Success. The heart is 1" wide and 7/8" high.

My double slot punch is McGill. The slots are 1/4" long, and each slot is 1/16" wide.

Tutorial for punching slots and hearts evenly:

The only tricky part is getting the slots punched evenly on the hearts. See photo tutorial below. Click on the photos to enlarge.

1. (Upper image below) - Cut a 1" x 5.5" strip of kraft.

Draw lines lengthwise at 1/4" and 1/2." Draw lines crosswise, the first one about 9/16" from the left end, and then spaced a little over 1" across the kraft strip. I normally would use pencil, but this time I used ink to be more legible in the photo.

Now punch the double slots, aiming to keep them straight and centered.

Personally, I find my slot punch hard to line up exactly. My slots on the left are pretty good. I intentionally made other slots crooked, to show you how to adjust.

If you have a perfectly positioned slot, line up the heart vertically along the line.

If you have a crooked slot, line the heart up along the slots.

In the photo above, I tinted my punched hearts and put them back into their holes to show you.

3. (Upper image below) Another view.

You can see from the punched-out strip that my hearts are tilting to follow my slots, not lined up with the grid that I drew. But I find the grid is still very helpful to keep me oriented in this step!

4. (Lower image above) My punched hearts. Tinted for purposes of #2, but in my real card, of course, they would be plain kraft.

You can see my slots are not perfectly lined up - they don't need to be perfect! But they are reasonably straight and similar in position.

Instead of bending the "ribbon" back and forth through the slots, bend each heart a bit while threading it onto the "ribbon."

I tried using real ribbon, but the Neenah's stiffness made it easier for me to thread through the slots, adjust, and adhere.

Final assembly:

Adhere the 1" circles onto the top (light blue) layer first. The bottoms of the circles should be 1/4" up from the bottom of the layer. The middle circle should be centered left-to-right.

The end circles should be 1/8" in from the outer edges. This placement will allow room for the 1/4" dots and will show a bit of the white "ribbon" on the ends.

Now adhere the threaded hearts onto the 1" circles. I ran the threaded hearts through my 1-1/2" Xyron. Then I was still able to adjust them as I positioned them on the 1" circles.

Adhere the 1/4" dots.

Adhere all the layers to the card base.

Repeating the card photo once more for reference: Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (056b)

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About Me

I love to draw and color, mostly with Copic markers, and that's what my first blog "Mostly Markers" is about. As I found myself creating more greeting cards, I added my second blog "Mostly Markers - Cards."

Operation: Quiet Comfort

Starting in early 2016, most of my cards are now made for Operation: Quiet Comfort. As explained on their web site, "Operation Quiet Comfort exists solely for the purpose of honoring and comforting America’s military men and women who become sick and injured while serving in harm’s way. We also provide support to those who care for them. We collect, package and ship supplies for U.S. Military men and women receiving care at medical facilities abroad." The packages also include cards with messages of support and encouragement ... "thinking of you, patriotic, thank you, cheerful cards." I'm happy to have the opportunity to support our troops in this way.

From 2010 to mid-2015, most of my cards were made for ...

Because so many of our deployed troops have returned home to their families and communities, Operation Write Home is no longer accepting cards.

Disclosure

I'm not affiliated with any store or product, and I don't receive any free or specially discounted items. When I mention something on my blog, it's because I personally use it with good results.

to learn more about Copic markers

For Copic marker information and lots of really good tutorials, I encourage you to visit I Like Markers, Marianne Walker's blog. Start at her earliest post (2008) for basic info and work forward from there.

About My Cards and My Blog

I'm mostly not a stamper, so for my card images, I often do my own line drawing, then color it with markers. To use it multiple times, I scan it before coloring, then computer-print it. For more on my drawing process, see "How I Draw," and also "Anybody Can Draw."

I use Copic markers (I prefer "original" and also have some of the "sketch" type), Copic multiliner pens, and the Copic airbrush (airbrushing with my markers). See "About My Tools and Materials" for my Copic colors and other tools, materials, supplies and sources. Techniques and materials may also be noted in the blog post.

I will post a few times a month, whenever I have a new card to share. For cards before 2012, the date on the post is the approximate date of the card, not always the posting date. Reference posts like "About My Labels" are filed together as 1973, but are much newer.